


Carpe Diem

by InspectorBoxer



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-22
Updated: 2016-06-30
Packaged: 2018-07-16 12:41:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7268653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InspectorBoxer/pseuds/InspectorBoxer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was all so polite. So professional. So painfully not them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just a quick little drabble for fun. Takes place between the promotion and season 2.

They barely see each other anymore.

Kara loitered next to Winn’s desk, her gaze straying again and again to Cat as she half listened to her best friend babble about Max Lord’s latest exploits, watching the older woman with her new assistant. Cat was smiling, and the girl seemed so relaxed, not even remotely terrified, so at ease with Cat that Kara kind of wanted to hit something. She’d been replaced, apparently effortlessly and with a more desirable model, and even though Kara had chosen Amy to be Cat’s assistant, she suddenly resented the hell out of the girl.

“You just… broke my phone,” Winn murmured. 

Tearing her gaze away from the CEO, Kara focused on her best friend before her gaze skittered down to the mangled plastic under her hand. “Uh… sorry.” 

“You okay?”

“Fine,” Kara sighed, but she glanced back up at Cat, her chest aching as Cat chuckled and Amy smiled.

Winn followed her line of sight. “Amy seems to be working out well.”

“Yeah,” Kara said despondently. “Go Amy.”

“Are you jealous?” Winn frowned and looked up at her, almost as puzzled by her behavior as Kara was. “Do you have some kind of weird Stockholm Syndrome going on where you miss your evil captor?”

“What? No,” Kara huffed, dredging up the energy to pretend to be exasperated by such a thought. “That’s ridiculous. I mean, why would I be jealous of Cat’s assistant? I escaped that, remember?”

“You are. You’re jealous…” Winn sing-songed. 

Kara smacked him in the shoulder and he nearly tipped over backwards in his chair. 

“Ow!” he protested, rubbing the spot where he’d been struck. 

“Consider yourself lucky,” Kara told him with a smirk. “I could have knocked you clean through the wall.”

The commotion was loud enough to draw Cat’s attention. She glanced their way, her gaze lingering on Kara for an intense moment before she reluctantly went back to the task at hand. Kara didn’t miss the brief flicker of a sad smile on the older woman’s lips, the sight causing an ache in her chest she couldn’t define.

Winn scowled. “Jeez, you woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.” His scowl morphed into another frown as Kara simply walked away.

****

As usual, the rest of CatCo was clearing out quickly on a Friday night and Kara had been about to do the same when she spied Cat working away in her office, alone, a pair of glasses perched on the end of her nose. No doubt she would be there for several more hours, shaping the national conversation in some form or another. Kara wondered what the topic was this time. She used to always know.

They hadn’t spoken much in the weeks since Kara’s promotion and the slow exit of Cat Grant from her everyday life had begun. Absently, Kara wondered if Cat’s bar was stocked. If her M&M jar was full. It wasn’t her job to check anymore, to cater to the CEO’s whims and mercurial moods, but Kara found she missed taking care of her. There were a lot of things she missed about Cat Grant.

Drawing back her shoulders a little, Kara made a decision, threading her way through the exiting crowd and heading to Cat’s office. She didn’t have a plan, only a strange, reckless need to end the growing distance between them. Cat was pulling away from her again, and this time, Kara wasn’t going to let it happen. Not after Myriad. Not after all they’d been through.

Amy offered Kara a quick smile as she bundled up her belongings. “Goodnight, Ms. Grant,” she called out. “Have a nice weekend.”

Cat flicked her wrist distractedly in a dismissive wave and Kara grinned, just a tiny bit, as the assistant gave her an exasperated eyeroll and left for the weekend.

Kara lingered in the doorway, waiting to be noticed, waiting to be invited back into Cat’s kingdom. She was prepared to stand there all night if need be.

After a few minutes, Cat glanced up and did a double take when she saw Kara standing there, the bullpen now largely empty behind her. 

Kara swallowed, a jolt of heat spreading through her as their gazes met. “Hi.”

Cat slipped her glasses off and eyed her uncertainly. “Everything all right?”

“Fine,” Kara promised quickly, not wanting to worry her. “I just…” She hesitated, weighing her options as she risked one step inside Cat’s office. “I just…”

Slowly, Cat stood and sauntered closer, pursing her lips in amusement. “You just…?” she prompted.

Hell with it, Kara decided. Carpe Diem as Cat had recently suggested. “I’ve missed you.”

Cat went still, drawing in a slow, uneven breath at the admission. “Oh,” she said quietly, but she seemed pleased if not a little surprised. “I didn’t realize you were a glutton for punishment, Kara.”

Kara snorted softly, still experiencing a thrill at hearing Cat say her name properly. No one else spoke her name like that, like they were savoring the sound of it, the feel of it on their tongue. “How are you?”

Something in Cat’s eyes softened at the question. “I’m fine.”

“Carter?”

“He’s well, thank you.”

It was all so polite. So professional. So painfully not them.

They stared at each other a moment, the silence awkward and uncomfortable. 

“Amy working out okay?”

“She’s not you,” Cat admitted, startling Kara with her honesty, “but as much as it pains me to admit it, you made a good choice.” Cat regarded her, looking like she was debating what she wanted to say next.

“What?” Kara urged softly, stepping closer, hoping to coax whatever it was out of her.

Cat swallowed, her gaze shifting to the windows as she rolled her eyes slightly. “I… suppose… I might, actually... miss you, too. A little.” 

A rush of giddiness made Kara smile. “She’s taking good care of you?”

“That was never your actual job, you know.” Cat looked back at her again, one eyebrow arched almost as much as her tone.

“No, but it was the best part of it.”

Cat’s gaze was intense as it held hers, trying to figure out Kara’s angle, what was motivating this unexpected visit. 

“Your new role…” Cat said, carefully, “you’re enjoying it?”

Kara nodded. It was the truth, her new position was proving to be very rewarding, but there was one thing, one person, missing. “I am. Thank you again for the opportunity.”

“You earned it, Kara. I should have done it a long time ago.”

They fell into an uneasy silence again, and Kara hated it, hated this strange, unwelcome tension that had settled between them since…

Since she’d started dating James. 

Kara blinked with the epiphany, her stomach going into a freefall at the thought. Surely that wasn’t the reason for their estrangement. Cat had encouraged her to date James, and before that she’d pushed her toward Adam. Why would she do that unless… unless…

Drawing in a ragged breath as subtly as possible, Kara stood a little straighter, a flicker of hope igniting in her chest.

“I don’t know if you heard,” she said slowly, testing the waters. “James and I…”

Cat’s features went politely blank. “Yes, I heard my Lighthouse Technique proved to be a success.”

Kara winced. “It did,” she admitted. “But…”

Something flickered over Cat’s features, some emotion that came and went so quickly Kara couldn’t identify it. “But?”

“I don’t think his ship was meant to stay docked in my port.” Her tone was wry.

“Oh?” Cat came closer still, her perfume intoxicating as it filled Kara’s next breath. 

“We… we broke up. We’re better as friends.”

“I see. I’m sorry to hear that.”

Cat didn’t seem the least bit sorry, and with the way she was looking at her now, Kara decided she wasn’t, either. Her heart jackknifed in her chest before slamming against her ribs as tiny silver spots danced in her vision. She had to remind herself to breathe.

“Do you… want to grab a drink? Or maybe even dinner?” Kara blurted, realizing too late how the request sounded, but she didn’t try to take it back when Cat seemed to honestly consider the invitation.

“Dinner would be... acceptable.”

Kara’s throat went dry. Suddenly her invitation felt like something more than old colleagues catching up. Suddenly she wanted it to be more. “Seven?” She couldn’t believe how even her voice sounded, how casual.

“Seven it is... Kara,” Cat said her name again with a smile that was equal parts intrigue and seduction before she pivoted on her heel and returned to her desk.

Swallowing roughly, Kara turned and wandered away, dazed, wondering if she’d not only just asked Cat Grant out on a date, but if Cat had actually agreed to one.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Are we on the same page about this evening now?” Cat asked quietly.
> 
> Kara stared, a thin sliver of a guilty smile on her lips. “I think we might be.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be a single chapter... a little drabble for fun, but then I couldn't resist adding the actual date. Hope you enjoy it!
> 
> Special thanks to zennie for some helpful advice on this part!

“Hey, Kara. What’s up?” Alex asked in a distracted voice.

Kara quickly shut her office door behind her as she shifted her phone to her other ear. Panic was swelling in her stomach, making the thought of eating the dinner she’d proposed to Cat a few minutes ago sound impossible. “I need some advice. Like now.”

“Sure.”

She tried to think of where to even begin to explain the quandary she’d just gotten herself into. “If... someone you used to see every day told you they missed you, then... proposed going out for a drink or dinner, what would you think?”

Alex was quiet a moment, and Kara could well imagine the tiny furrow that had formed between her sister’s eyebrows at the question. “What did you do now?”

Kara rolled her eyes. “Alex, just answer the question. Please.” To keep from pacing, she sat on the edge of her desk, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Depends on the context, I guess. I suppose I would figure they were asking me out,” Alex said as if that were obvious.

Dropping her head back, Kara groaned at the ceiling.

Alex, having plenty of practice, ignored her theatrics. “Depending on my history with this person, I might even think they wanted to… reconnect. I don’t know, Kara, I need a little more context here.”

“Reconnect?” Kara murmured, confused.

“That was my polite way of saying I might think sex was on the table.”

“Sex?” Kara bolted off her desk and back onto her feet. “Where did you get that was about sex?!” 

“Context,” Alex reminded her patiently, but Kara caught the first hint of amusement in her sister’s voice and realized she was being intentionally provoked.

The need to move wouldn’t be denied. Kara began to pace the small space, itching to be out of the office and above the city. Flying always calmed her down, but she wasn’t sure even that could ease her nerves now. “There’s someone I haven’t seen much of lately. I got the chance to talk to them tonight. Told them I missed them.”

“Did this mystery person say they missed you, too?”

Kara made a sound in the affirmative.

“And then you asked them out?”

“It… no… I don’t know. I sorta blurted out an invitation to have a drink or get dinner, but it came out sounding…” Kara sighed.

“Why are you stressing out over this?” Alex asked, baffled. Kara could hear fingers moving lightly over a keyboard and assumed she’d interrupted Alex finishing up her weekly report at the DEO. “If you miss James and want to patch things up with him, I’m sure he’d be down for that.”

“It’s not James.”

“Oh.” Alex stopped typing. “Oh,” she said again. “Who are we talking about then?”

Kara bit her lip. “Cat…” she said slowly, wincing in expectation of Alex’s response.

“You…” Alex lapsed into silence, and Kara wondered if her sister was simply struck dumb by Kara’s ability to get herself into these situations. “You asked your boss out on a date? The most powerful person in National City?”

“Did I?” Kara asked innocently.

“Jesus, Kara.” 

“Oh God, I totally did, didn’t I?”

“I don’t even know what to say right now.” Alex released a sigh of epic proportions. “Wait. What did Cat say?”

“She… um…”

“She said yes?” Alex blurted. “No wonder you’re freaking out. I think I’m freaking out on your behalf. How do you… I… I can’t even…”

“Alex, what do I do?” Kara pleaded. She would have found her sister’s exasperation almost funny if she hadn’t been so terrified.

Alex sighed again. “What do you want to do?” she asked seriously.

The question made Kara blink, her breath hitching in her chest. The answer came to her immediately, but Kara held back saying it out loud, taking a moment to absorb what it meant. 

“Kara?” Alex’s tone softened, and Kara knew her sister’s priority in that moment was her. There was nothing else that mattered. Not the DEO. Not Supergirl. Not what it could mean if Cat Grant, the Queen of All Media, spilled Kara’s secrets to the world. Alex was only worried about Kara’s heart, and that made her own ache with love for her sister. “You’ve always had a little crush on Cat…”

“Maybe not so little,” Kara admitted. Throat rippling around a hard swallow, Kara willed a deep breath in to steady her nerves.

“Maybe you didn’t accidentally ask Cat out. Maybe it was more accidentally on purpose.”

Kara went still, the burst of panic slowly beginning to recede as Alex confirmed what she’d already suspected. Reaching up, she adjusted her glasses. “Going out with her is a bad idea, isn’t it?” she asked, verifying Alex’s suspicions, her chest hurting at the thought of going back into Cat’s office and canceling whatever in the hell it was they were supposed to do at 7:00. 

“The worst,” Alex agreed. “But…”

Like a pinprick of light in a darkened room, that little word caused a flare of hope. 

“But…” Alex said again. “If it weren’t for Cat Grant we’d all be mindless drones or blown to bits thanks to Maxwell Lord, so she’s got that going for her.”

Kara smiled, just a little.

“And she did give you a promotion.”

“She did,” Kara agreed, bemused as Alex considered some of Cat’s finer qualities for a change, probably a first for her sister.

“And she is rich. And hot. And smart,” Alex allowed begrudgingly. “And you do think she knows about Supergirl, despite the stunt we pulled with J’onn. So if that’s true, she can apparently be trusted with your secret.”

“Are you trying to talk me into this or yourself?” Kara asked, her smile a little stronger.

“Maybe a little bit of both, because she’s also twice your age. She’s got two kids, one of whom you dated briefly, and she used to make you cry on a nearly daily basis when you first started working for her.”

Kara winced at the memory and she didn’t even want to think about Adam. “I know all that, Alex.”

“And you don’t care?”

“I wouldn’t say I don’t care, but recent events have reminded me that life is short.”

“I get that, Kara,” Alex answered sincerely, ”but that’s not enough of a reason to go out with Cat Grant.”

Kara took a moment to organize her thoughts. “Cat… makes me feel… safe. She makes me think and push myself to do things I thought I couldn’t. She has faith in me, faith as strong as you do, and not just because I’m Supergirl. I smile more when I’m with her. I crave being around her and not just because she smells amazing and is gorgeous, but because I like who I am when I’m with her. Cat makes me _better_ , Alex.”

Silence beat back across the line at Kara for several moments. “You’ve never described her like that before,” Alex said slowly.

Swallowing, Kara shrugged. “I don’t think I fully appreciated what I had with her until it was gone. I want it back. I want her back.”

“And that’s how we wound up here.”

Kara smiled sadly. “Yeah.”

“You know I love you to Krypton and back,” Alex began thoughtfully, “but I’m your sister. It’s my job to worry.”

“I know. You do it well.”

“It’s not like you don’t give me plenty of reasons to,” Alex teased right back. She sighed again. “Kara, if… if you want to see if there is something there with Cat, I’ll support you, but if she hurts you…”

“You have access to alien technology that ensures no one will ever find her body,” Kara guessed with a weak smirk.

“Damn right I do.”

Kara snorted faintly, more grateful for her sister’s blessing than Alex would ever know. “I love you, Alex.”

“I love you too, Kara. I won’t lie. I wish you’d fall for someone easier, like an escapee from Fort Rozz,” Alex grumbled, “but if Cat is the one you want…”

“I don’t know,” Kara admitted. “All I know is that I apparently accidentally on purpose asked Cat Grant out on a date and she said yes. And… and I kind of…”

“Really want to see what happens?”

“Yeah,” Kara sighed.

“I have to admit to being perversely curious myself. When is this ‘date?’”

Kara looked at her watch. “In about an hour and a half.” Her stomach flipped nervously.

“Just… go. Have a nice meal. See where it leads. The only one putting pressure on this to mean one thing or another is you.” Alex’s typing finally resumed. “But you better call me and tell me everything when you get home. I want details.”

Tears gathered at the corners of Kara’s eyes, at the back of her throat. “I have the best sister on the planet.”

“No. That’s me,” Alex answered, her voice gruff with emotion. “I hope… I hope things go the way you want them to. I think.”

“Me too. I just have to figure out what that is.”

****

Slapping her pen down on the desk in frustration, Cat heaved out an irritated sigh. She’d been staring at the layouts for the next issue for the last 45 minutes and the only notes she’d managed to make were a tiny series of heart doodles next to the Taylor Swift spread.

Cat shoved back from her desk and crossed to the bar, pouring herself a finger of bourbon and tossing it back like a shot. The alcohol burned all the way down and she winced, sucking a sharp breath in through her teeth. 

Kara had asked her out. At least Cat thought the younger woman had, with Kara she could never be sure about anything. Her former assistant lived to confuse and confound her.

It was ridiculous to be enticed by the invitation, regardless of the motivation behind it, but Cat couldn’t deny her growing anticipation. More than a decade since she’d been seriously captivated by anyone, Cat was both frightened and exhilarated at the thought of spending the evening in Kara’s company. The younger woman fascinated her for so many reasons, and that damn Sunny Danvers smile coupled with those beautiful blue eyes fueled a potent cocktail of desire Cat had been doing her best to resist for longer than she wanted to admit.

But she missed Kara, missed how the younger woman challenged her, stimulated her. She missed Kara’s easy grins, and the way her eyes would sparkle when she figured Cat out but didn’t say so. Trust was something that didn’t come easy to her, but with Kara, Cat had found someone she trusted with her very life. It seemed absurd not to trust her with her heart.

Pouring one more finger of bourbon, Cat sipped slowly from her glass this time. Kara had taken the first step, even if she’d blundered adorably into it. If there was ever going to be a time for them to explore the heat between them, tonight was the place to start. Another opportunity might not come, and Cat had too many regrets about her life already. 

“Ms. Grant?” 

Seven o’clock, Cat realized with a glance at her watch. Kara was nothing if not punctual when her side job saving the world permitted.

“I’m going to have to put a bell on you.” Cat turned, going still and mute when she discovered Kara in the doorway to her office. She had gone home and changed at some point, discarding the cardigan and pencil skirt for a sleeveless, skin tight navy dress that showed off every curve and valley of her body. 

This was definitely a date, Cat decided with a rough swallow, whether Kara knew it or not.

“A bell?” Kara smiled faintly, her eyes crinkling behind her glasses, her hair down fully for a change and tousled to a sexy degree. 

“You’re like a ninja in here after hours. I never hear you coming.” Cat sauntered closer, her gaze traveling from Kara’s toes all the way to her eyes. The younger woman took a deep breath, standing a little straighter as Cat paused before her, appraisingly. “You changed.”

Kara shrugged one shoulder, somewhat bashful now under Cat’s obvious appreciation. “Figured I’d better up my wardrobe game if I was going to be seen with you on a Friday night,” she joked.

Cat smiled, her heart beating deliciously fast. She wondered if Kara could hear it, if she knew the effect she was having on her. This feeling had made Cat run more than once, had forced her to distance herself from her tempting former assistant in the past, but tonight she embraced it, luxuriated in it. Recent events had reminded her that life was too short and she should just live it. The hell with everything else. “You look…” Cat considered her words. “Sinful.”

Swallowing, Kara licked her lips nervously. “Is that good or bad?”

“We’ll see.” 

Kara looked like she was going to faint in reaction to the slow, sexy smile Cat gave her. 

“Breathe, Kara,” Cat instructed playfully as she pivoted on her stiletto. “I’ll get my purse.” 

****

Twirling the stem of her wine glass between her fingers, Cat looked out at the stunning view of National City. Unlike the vista she enjoyed from her office balcony, the little hole in the wall restaurant Kara had taken her to had a stunning view of Otto Binder Bridge. It was gorgeous, and the private table they enjoyed in a quiet, covered nook on the patio was as charming as it was romantic.

The restaurant was packed with patrons, clearly an up and coming spot attracting all of the right people. Cat wondered how Kara had managed to get them not only a table with such short notice on a Friday night, but clearly the most desirable one in the establishment. A table like this would have a waiting list weeks, if not months, long.

Lit by candlelight, Kara was even more enticing than the million dollar view. Cat let her gaze linger on her dining companion as Kara perused the menu, oblivious to Cat’s attention. The scents emanating from the kitchen were divine, and if the food tasted even half as good as it smelled then Kara had chosen quite well indeed. “Kara.”

Kara looked up, meeting Cat’s eyes through the candlelight. So far they had stuck to safe topics, mostly work, and Cat knew she would have to take the lead if this was going to be the date she suspected Kara wanted as much as she did. The damn girl treated their relationship as if it were the most fragile thing in the world, as if a single word from her could break it. Cat understood the trepidation and where it came from, but she knew all those fissures that had occurred between them in the past had only strengthened what was between them now. 

“I know prime real estate when I see it.”

Blonde eyebrows scrunched in confusion. “Prime real estate?”

“This table.”

“Oh.” A flicker of a smile graced Kara’s lips as she reached up and adjusted her glasses. “Impressed?” she added cheekily.

Cat couldn’t help a small smile of her own from forming at the pleased look on her former assistant’s features. “Flummoxed,” she confessed. “I’m not sure I could get this table on such short notice.”

“I have more faith in the Cat Grant name than that.” 

“I see. Was that how you arranged this? You dropped my name?”

“Nope.” Kara took a sip of her wine, and Cat got the distinct impression she was being toyed with in a rather charming manner.

Cat narrowed her eyes, the expression meant to be menacing, but Kara merely laughed lightly.  
“I went to college with the chef,” she admitted.

Cat arched one eyebrow in surprise, pleased to see Kara leveraging her resources. “She must be very good to have a restaurant like this at such a young age.”

“Alicia is actually a little older than me. She was good friends with Alex.”

“Your sister.” Cat was rewarded with a beaming smile for remembering. God, she’d missed that smile and Cat soaked in the sight of it like a drug. “And did you have to promise to beg, borrow, or steal something to get us this table?” 

“Um…” Kara’s nose crinkled adorably. “Not… exactly.”

“Kara…” Cat leaned forward, savoring the way her former assistant couldn’t take her eyes off her now. “Tell me all your secrets.”

That made Kara laugh a little breathlessly and some of the painful stiffness in her shoulders relaxed. “I…” Kara gestured to the painting behind Cat’s chair. “She owed me one.”

Cat looked at the painting, rich strokes of color and light she’d appraised on the way in, having noticed several more by the same artist in the restaurant. She hadn’t been able to make out a signature in the low light, but the talent was undeniable. “You put her in touch with the artist?”

“I… I am the artist.” Kara took another sip of her wine as Cat looked back at her in surprise.

Blinking owlishly, Cat experienced a rare moment of being struck dumb. Few people in her life could accomplish such a feat, but Kara Danvers had more notches in that win column than most. 

Kara shrugged again, a little more self consciously as Cat continued to stare. “It’s a hobby.” She brushed her exceptionalism aside as if it were nothing. “I paint some in my free time when I need to clear my head. Alicia needed some art so we made a trade.”

“A trade?” Cat managed, pleased to find her brain working again.

“I get the best table in the restaurant when I want it, she got five paintings.”

“And tell me,” Cat coaxed, already suspected the answer. “How many times have you requested this table?”

Kara gave her a busted grin before dropping her gaze.

“Not once. Am I right?”

A third shrug. “I let Alex use it when she goes out on the rare date. Very rare,” Kara added with an exasperated huff for her sister.

Cat considered lecturing the younger woman on valuing her own skills, but that was a conversation for the office. “You never brought James here?”

“We… ate here once or twice but inside. I’ve sat here with Alex, but she made the reservations.” 

“The paintings are exquisite, Kara.”

The praise made Kara’s cheeks flush, but she looked thrilled by it. “Thank you.”

“I should be thanking you.”

Kara tilted her head, much like a confused puppy.

“For thinking I was worthy of this arrangement.”

Clearing her throat, Kara blushed anew. “Only the best for you, Ms. Grant,” she said softly, sincerely.

They stared at each other for a long moment, the spell broken when the waiter came to take their orders. When he was gone and they were alone once more, Kara took a deep breath.

“So…” she began slowly, clearly searching for another safe topic. “How’s the latest issue of CatCo Magazine coming?”

Cat’s mouth twisted to keep a smile from forming. The younger woman was sending her mixed messages left and right about the nature of their evening together, and Cat found it oddly amusing that the strongest woman on the planet could be so chicken when it came to going after what she wanted. “Is that why we’re here? To talk about work?”

“I…” Kara took another deep breath. She sighed, wrestling with what she wanted to say.

Taking charge of the moment, Cat slowly stood and Kara’s features fell until Cat moved one chair over, settling beside Kara with deliberate intent. The younger woman watched her, both puzzled and mildly alarmed.

“Ms. Grant?”

“I think there is a little matter we need to address before this evening continues.” With only a flicker of nerves at the possibility she might have misread the whole situation, Cat leaned forward, her right hand running delicately over Kara’s proud jaw before she kissed her, soft and slow. 

It took Kara a moment to get over the shock, but then her lips parted against Cat’s, giving as good as she got, and what was supposed to be a reassuring gesture became so much more.

When Cat finally found a shred of willpower and withdrew from that tempting mouth, her whole body was tingling. She rested her forehead against Kara’s, watching as her blue eyes dazedly blinked open, the desire in them something Cat had only caught glimmers of before, but now that hunger, hunger for her, was on naked display. 

“Are we on the same page about this evening now?” Cat asked quietly.

Kara stared, a thin sliver of a guilty smile on her lips. “I think we might be.”

“Good.” Cat leaned back with effort. Suddenly the air was too warm, her dress too tight. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so physically affected by someone and wondered if she ever had.

They lapsed into an intense silence as the both caught their breath.

“I… didn’t exactly mean to ask you out,” Kara confessed, the tension gone from her body now as she looked at Cat with undisguised appreciation and gratitude for clearing the air between them.

“I know.” Cat grinned, her own posture more relaxed now that she was sure they wanted the same thing from this evening. They had never been on more equal footing than they were in this moment, and Cat relished the shift in their dynamic, surprising her more than a little. “As soon as the invitation left your mouth you looked like you’d swallowed a bug. And it was a very vivid tint of red your face turned.”

Kara smiled, but she didn’t dispute the description. “I called my sister to confirm I’d just done what I thought I had.” She fiddled with the stem of her own glass, turning it round and round on the pristine white table cloth.

Cat watched her, captivated. “But you didn’t take the invitation back. You didn’t amend it. Why?”

“Because... “ Kara’s voice grew fainter. “Because part of me hoped you would say yes.”

A thrill of anticipation skittered through her as Cat took another sip of her wine. “And here we are.”

“And here we are,” Kara echoed with a wondering smile. Her eyes dipped unwittingly to Cat’s mouth again. “That was amazing.”

Ego happily stroked, Cat smiled as she set her glass back on the table. “You have my permission to do it again before the night’s over,” she teased, very much hoping Kara took her up on that offer. “And if you plan to, perhaps you should call me Cat.”

“Cat,” Kara nearly whispered, surprising Cat by closing the distance between them and kissing her again with more heat. They only stopped when the waiter returned a few minutes later, red-faced, with their meal.

****

Cat looked stunning in candlelight. Kara knew she’d been caught staring more than once over dinner, but she couldn’t help it. She did her best to memorize the way the soft glow bathed the other woman’s features, the shadows, the highlights, hoping she could find time to paint such a mesmerizing sight. 

“You’re doing it again.”

Kara grinned, unapologetic. “I’d say sorry, but you like to tell me I apologize too much.”

Cat took a sip from her second glass of wine, the glass nearly empty. “I have to admit, when I catch you staring at me like that it’s good for my ego.”

Blushing at her own boldness, Kara nevertheless enjoyed the dangerous thrill that came with it. “When we do this again, your ego is going to get a lot bigger.”

Arching one eyebrow, Cat studied her. “You think we’re going to do this again?”

A tiny hint of insecurity tried to rear its ugly head, but Kara ruthlessly swatted it down. She hadn’t been the only one caught staring. “I’d like to,” Kara confessed, her fingers drifting down the curve of her wine glass as she watched Cat carefully. “I’ve had a very nice time tonight.”

Cat kept her waiting on a response, but Kara knew that was a good sign. “Night isn’t over, yet.”

Kara had never heard that particular timbre of Cat’s voice before. Husky and honeyed, it slid down her ears and made her shiver. “Carter is with his father?”

Now both eyebrows lifted and Kara blurted out a laugh, realizing how that sounded. “Oh God. I did it again. I didn’t mean…”

Cat’s ensuing chuckle was both charmed and amused. “You should come with a warning.”

“I meant…” Kara cleared her throat. “There’s a place I’d like to show you, if you don’t need to get home. It’s just outside the city. Not far from here at all. Puts this view to shame.”

“I don’t know,” Cat said softly. “I’m finding this view quite enchanting.” Cat stared at Kara openly in the candlelight. “Although if you hadn’t amended that last invitation…” 

Heat swept through her, swift and strong, and Kara nearly swooned at the thought. “Oh… I…”

“Breathe, Kara,” Cat said for the second time that night. 

Kara tried to suck oxygen into her lungs as subtly as possible, but it was as if her lungs had forgotten how to work. “ _I_ should come with a warning?” 

Cat merely smiled, doing nothing to help the sudden, intense desire Kara was grappling with. She raked a hand through her hair, wondering if she could get to the Fortress of Solitude to cool off and back before Cat noticed. This night was proving to be completely surprising, unexpected, and everything Kara had ever dared dream it might be. 

“You like to fluster me,” Kara accused.

“Should I stop?” Cat’s eyes searched hers now, and Kara saw some of her own insecurities about what they were doing reflected back at her.

“No.” Kara’s voice was quiet by firm. She could get very used to nights like this in Cat’s company, prayed there would be many, many more.

“Good.” Cat’s eyes wandered over Kara’s body before meeting her eyes again. “Because I rather enjoy it.”

They stared at each other again, reveling in the thickening tension between them. Cat broke first, looking away to pick up her wineglass to polish off the last sip. “Shall we?”

****

“Do I need to carry you?” Kara asked lightly, grinning as Cat cursed creatively again. She turned around on the narrow trail, shoes in her hand, a small bag containing champagne and plastic glasses looped over her elbow along with a blanket. They were scrambling along the coast, and despite Cat’s protests, Kara’s confidence that the woman would enjoy their destination was growing. 

“When I agreed to dinner, I didn’t think there was going to be hiking through the wilderness involved for dessert.”

“Grant Park is hardly wilderness. Haven’t you ever been here? It’s named after you.”

“I came for the dedication. That seemed adequate.”

Kara shook her head, catching the faint sound of music on the coastal breeze that stirred her hair. “The concert started.”

“What concert?” Cat sniffed, carefully stepping over a rocky patch. She’d slipped her shoes off long before Kara, the terrain proving too treacherous for her Manolo Blahniks. They could hear the shore to their right, the waves crashing on the rocks below. She looked up when Kara’s hand appeared at face level.

“We’re almost there,” Kara promised, wiggling her fingers in invitation. Cat slowly gripped her hand, her skin soft and warm. “Humor me for another few minutes.”

“Hmm,” Cat said skeptically as Kara easily maneuvered her up the slight remaining incline before they left the trail and Cat was relieved to feel grass beneath her feet. She tilted her head when she detected the first strains of music as well. “Where is that coming from?”

Kara merely smiled. Cat liked to be challenged, liked to be confronted with new experiences, even if she wouldn’t admit it. The seasoned journalist wanted people to surprise her, respected them more when they could. Kara hoped she’d managed that tonight.

When she’d first found this spot, now one of her favorites in the whole city, Cat had been the one person Kara had wanted to share it with. A place where the power of music and the power of the ocean collided, it seemed made for the most powerful woman in the city. 

True to her word, a few minutes later they stepped out onto a small bluff, the ocean stretching out before them. The moon was nearly full, glinting off the white caps of the Pacific and allowing them to see for miles. Kara watched Cat for her reaction as she spread the blanket out, the music louder and more distinct now. 

“How did you find this place?” Cat asked, a hint of awe in her voice as she tipped her head back to take in the explosion of stars overhead, more visible without the city lights to obscure them.

Kara drew in a deep breath as she settled on the blanket, enjoying a different view. Cat’s profile was spellbinding in the moonlight, and all Kara wanted was for her to come closer, to get as close to her as she dared. “I like exploring the city on weekends.”

Cat looked at her over her shoulder, one brow arched and her hip cocked for effect. “You mean you spotted it flying home after saving the day?”

Stomach twitching nervously at the mention of her alter ego, Kara shrugged, having decided after her call with Alex that if the topic came up, she wouldn’t run from it. They’d been through too much recently to keep playing that game, and after those kisses at dinner, Kara didn’t think she could anymore even if she wanted to. “What would you do if I said yes?”

Now Cat’s whole body turned toward her, her hazel eyes dark and unreadable. She started to reply before hesitating, eyeing Kara stretched out on the blanket as soft strains of music drifted between them.

Just when Kara thought she might have ruined one of the best evenings of her life, Cat snorted faintly and turned back to the view. “You never told me where the music was coming from.”

Getting to her feet, Kara came closer, smiling in relief and wonder that Cat wasn’t pushing the Supergirl issue. It would come up again later, Kara was sure, but tonight it was just them. Just Cat and Kara and the magic that had been missing between them, with even more magic to possibly discover. “Come here,” Kara urged, her voice hushed as she wrapped a strong arm around Cat’s waist before leading her to the edge opposite the ocean.

Cat balked with a foot to go, and Kara’s hold on her tightened. “I would never let you fall,” she murmured in Cat’s ear, feeling the other woman shiver, in fear or at their closeness, Kara wasn’t sure.

“Better not. My lawyer will sue you so hard your heirs will feel it.”

Kara chuckled. “Lean over.”

Cat glanced over her shoulder and into Kara’s eyes at close range. “Kara…”

“Trust me,” Kara pleaded softly.

With a sigh, Cat complied, trying to see what was below. She blinked when she saw the lights a few miles away, the shell of the National City Amphitheater, the full crowd. The music echoed beautifully off the rocks, rising to their position before drifting away on the ocean breeze. “Oh…”

“Best seat in the house.” Kara grinned, pleased she could surprise her. “Cheapest, too.”

Slowly, Cat straightened and Kara eased them back, away from the ledge. Reluctantly, she started to let the other woman go, but then Cat turned in her grasp, looking up at Kara in the moonlight as the melody washed over them, through them.

“Who knew Kara Danvers was such a romantic?” Cat breathed.

“Only when the right person inspires me.” Holding tight to her courage, Kara brushed her mouth softly, carefully over Cat’s, feeling the touch sing through her. Cat’s arms slipped behind Kara’s neck, drawing her closer as Cat deepened the kiss, the first tease of her tongue against Kara’s nearly buckling the younger woman’s knees.

Distantly, Kara mused she was going to have plenty of details to share with Alex when she called her sister later.

Then Cat began to ease them back toward the blanket, her hands exploring Kara’s body as the kiss grew hotter, messier.

Much later, Kara mentally amended as her back hit the ground and Cat’s warm weight settled on top of her. 

“Are you sure about this?” Kara had to ask when they came up for air.

“Seize the day, Kara,” Cat coaxed with a knowing smile before kissing her breathless again.

It was the best advice Cat had ever given her.

****

Sunlight filtered through Alex’s windows, spreading across her pillow and features. She groaned, rolling away and taking her pillow with her to block out the light.

A few moments of quiet followed before she bolted upright, grabbing her phone off the nightstand to check for any missed calls or texts. She should have heard from Kara hours ago.

There were none.

Alex flopped back on the bed, staring up at her ceiling as her brain considered what that might mean. Surely Kara and Cat hadn’t… 

Biting her lip, Alex studied her phone, debating her next step before sending her sister a quick text. 

A few minutes passed and Alex was just about to call the DEO in concern, wondering if Kara had gotten very lucky or very unlucky when her phone chimed softly, indicating a reply.

_Best. Date. Ever._

A slow, sweet smile spread across Alex’s lips as her thumbs typed a quick reply. 

_You owe me details_ , Alex reminded her with a smirk, happiness blooming behind her ribs for her sister. A relationship with Cat Grant was going to cause all kinds of headaches in the future, but right now the older woman had Kara floating on cloud nine.

That was enough for her.


End file.
